Hydrothermal steam hotpot — a smoke-free, oil-free way to eat seafood

I'm the type who easily gets tired of hotpot. It's not that I don't like it, but because of that all-too-familiar scene: the pot of broth bubbling away for hours, by the end the broth is overly salty from being seasoned again and again, your face is flushed from the heat, and your clothes reek of the smell so badly that even two washes at home won't get it out. So when I first heard about "hydrothermal steam hotpot," honestly, I thought it was just another naming trick to make it sound fancy. Only after trying it was I convinced: it really is different. The difference is that you don't dip the items into boiling water, but steam them instead. At the bottom is a pot of boiling broth, and above it are stacked layers of steaming racks where seafood, meat, and vegetables are placed. Everything is covered so the hot steam can rise through each layer and cook the food. It sounds just like the steamer basket we have at home, but the clever part lies in the opposite direction: as everything cooks, the sweet juices from the shrimp, clams, scallops, and crab drip down and gradually flow into the pot of water below. By the time you've almost finished eating, that pot is no longer the ready-made broth it started as — it has become a rich, deeply sweet and savory broth, and people drop noodles or rice into it to cook into porridge. For me, that porridge at the end of the meal is the real hidden star. Its sweetness is so genuine, because that sweetness comes from all the seafood we just ate, not from seasoning powder. Eating this way feels so much lighter. Steamed seafood keeps its natural flavor — the shrimp tastes like shrimp, the clams taste like clams, instead of everything blending into one shared pot of tangy, spicy, heavily seasoned broth. Less oil and grease, less odor, and you won't feel heavy after eating. It goes best with seafood: shrimp, clams, squid, crab, the kinds of things that get sweeter the more you steam them. I like to mix in a bit of meat, mushrooms, and vegetables between batches so it doesn't get too heavy, but honestly, this is a seafood feast, and those other dishes are just sides. But to be fair, it does come with a "catch". Steaming takes longer than dipping, so don't go when you're shaking with hunger — once you sit down, you have to wait for the first batch to cook; there's no dipping something in and eating it right away. Ingredients that take longer to cook, like crab and clams, should go in first, while thin, quick-cooking items should be added later; otherwise, the batch won't cook evenly. And if it's a buffet, it's very easy to overdo it: you want to pile everything you see onto the tower, and in the end all the cooked food comes at once, you can't eat it fast enough, and it goes cold and loses its flavor. My lesson learned is to take just enough for each batch, steam as you eat, and remember to save room for the pot of porridge — many times I filled up on seafood and only then remembered the porridge, but by then there was no room left, such a shame. I find this way of eating suits people who aren't big on fiery, spicy hotpot, and it's perfect for those meals when you want something light but still want to gather around together. If you're bringing foreign friends along, especially Korean guests or tourists who aren't yet used to the taste of mắm nêm (fermented fish dipping sauce) or strong-smelling broths, steam hotpot is a safe place to start — watching the food cook layer by layer in the steam is fun to look at, and you can eat and take photos at the same time. Where to try it in Da Nang? In Da Nang, I stopped by Ocean Pot – Steam Hotpot Buffet, which does it exactly the tiered-steaming way and then saves the sweet broth in the pot to cook porridge at the end of the meal, just like I described. If you're going as a group, this buffet style is a pretty good fit. For the address, prices, and opening hours, you'd better check the restaurant's fanpage to be sure — I don't remember the exact figures so I don't want to just guess, and besides, buffet prices often change depending on the time. Just check their page and book a table in advance if you're going on the weekend. All in all, if you're also the type who's a bit tired of traditional broth hotpot, give this steamed style a try at least once. The first time, it might seem a little too "mild," but once you get to the pot of rice porridge at the end of the meal, you'll understand.